


Water, fall

by lostsometime



Series: I think there might be nine of them now [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Episode 34: Encroaching Waters, Gen, Mollymauk Lives AU, Stream of Consciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-07 19:39:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16414652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostsometime/pseuds/lostsometime
Summary: The fight in the Sluice Weave, except Molly is there, too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I guess this takes place in the same continuity as my last story, "Fine Feathers." It's just your standard, everything-is-the-same-except-Molly's-alive AU. Please, come on this self-indulgent ride with me.

               Caduceus has been underwater too long.  Molly can tell from the way his disorganized, panicked flailing has slowed, grown weaker.  Jester, abruptly put back in the position of being _the_ cleric, is trying to reach him but he’s inside a living torrent of water, and the water wants to keep him.

               Molly curses. He can’t move fast enough. He needs to be closer to be anything but useless but he can’t _get there_.

_(Was this what Beau felt, watching him fall? The sickness of the inevitability, the blind panic? He doesn’t want to think about it.)_

               Caduceus’ lanky form goes limp, still suspended in the center of the swirling water, as the creature begins to move. Molly can see where it’s going, too much intelligence in its motions. It lunges at Jester and Molly flings a hand out, feeling the familiar trickle of blood down the side of his neck. He’s been a bit more cautious using this, since he came back, but this is no time for caution.  He pushes the curse to its full strength, feels his heart beat in his throat as the eye-mark there pulses.

               Nothing happens.

               For a moment he can only stare, baffled by his own failure, and then he realizes – it doesn’t have eyes.  It doesn’t have _blood_. It doesn’t have any of the things that usually make a thing alive, that make a thing killable. 

               The water takes Jester. Molly flings himself at it, yelling for her, and is brought up short when he realizes he can’t put a sword through the thing without hurting her. Instead he drops both swords – the faint light from them winks out – and plunges both hands _into_ the elemental, grabbing for her and pulling with his whole strength. He topples backwards, clutching her to his chest as they hit the ground, twisting so he doesn’t fall on his own blades, and she’s breathing, _she’s breathing, she’s okay –_

A very wet and unhappy crimson weasel sticks its head out of Jester’s hood, gasping.  It manages to fill its tiny lungs enough to emit an angry chitter, and suddenly Molly’s laughing. It’s a stupid thing to do, he thinks, the fight’s not _done_ , they aren’t safe until whatever is animating the water is gone, and he needs to help, he does, he will, in just a moment, _just one moment –_

But Jester’s in his arms and there’s terror and relief and fury and joy welling up in him all at once and he can’t stop laughing, and something in the laugh is cracked and he hears himself almost as if at a distance and thinks _oh._

_I sound like a madman._


	2. Chapter 2

Yasha steps forward before he manages to pull himself together, carving into the creature with her sword, deftly timing her strikes so as not to hit Caduceus.  The elemental tries to lash out again, but more and more of its form is losing shape and finally it shudders and dissolves.  Caduceus hits the ground in a soggy heap, half his face still beneath the level of the water, and even through her rage Yasha reaches for him, pulling him half-upright and shoving what little healing energy she can muster into him.  He comes to with an awful, ragged gasp and immediately begins choking up water.  Molly starts trying to bring Jester back to consciousness, to no avail.  There are horrible sounds coming from the darkened chamber beyond them, where Fjord and Beau are in battle with Algar and his cronies.  Caduceus drags himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his staff, and moves to heal Jester as the marid comes back over to continue the fight in place of the now-dead elemental.  _This,_ Molly thinks, _this thing I can hurt_.

He unleashes the blood curse on the marid and watches with satisfaction as its eyes cloud over black.  He feels it as he always does, a slight sting in his neck, and when he amplifies it he feels a twinge in his chest, the smallest echo of pain along the scar that bisects his sternum.  He thinks he might be imagining it but then again, he doesn’t really understand his own powers any better than he did when they first manifested.  Maybe the marks he bears from his death will always pain him now – he has no way to know.

Jester is still in his arms, blearily trying to catch her breath.  Caduceus has knelt down beside them in order to lay hands on her and doesn’t seem to have the strength to stand back up.  Over his shoulder, Molly can see Nott dragging Caleb back from the brink.  He tries to prepare for the attack he knows will come once the marid regains its sight; he fumbles under the dark water until he finds the hilt of one of his swords and draws it over his arm to coat it in blood and ice, pushing himself upright.  Yasha glares and very deliberately steps in front of him, greatsword at the ready.  The marid blinks blood from its eyes and roars, draws back an arm to attack –

And stops.

A grin splits its fishy face, and it immediately turns around to begin making its way to the back of the room.  From out of the darkness beyond the range of Molly’s sight floats Beau’s voice.

“Hey, are we good? Guys, we took care of the bracelet thing, _are we good?_ ”

“Yeah.”  Molly’s voice sounds strange in his own ears, brittle and too high, but he’s one of the only ones with enough breath to holler back.  “Yeah, we’re okay.”

After a few moments, he hears Fjord call, “Uh, guys? Y’all are gonna want to come back here for this.”


End file.
